Border

Friday September 8, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 8, 2017

Trump’s plan to end DACA could lead to influx of ‘Dreamers’ in Canada

President Donald Trump’s threat to end protections for those who entered the U.S. illegally as children could spark a new wave of immigration and asylum requests, some analysts warn.

If that happens, they say, Canada’s already stressed systems would come under further pressure and potentially intensify a backlash against newcomers.

About 1.7 million illegal migrants to the United States – the vast majority of them Mexicans – are either registered or qualify for registration under a five-year-old policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA. The program, which Trump wants ended, allows them to obtain work permits and protects them from deportation.

If even a fraction of those look north, it would still be a significant number of so-called Dreamers who might try to make Canada home.

Guidy Mamann, an immigration lawyer and policy analyst in Toronto, says he has already started getting calls and emails asking if Canada is an option.

“Now that there is a real question as to whether or not there is a permanent solution for these DACA kids, many of them are going to start to look towards Canada for both legal and possibly illegal entry,” Mamann said. “I suspect that we’re going to start seeing a real flow at this point because there is so much uncertainty.”

Younger Mexicans in the U.S. – those without completed higher education or solid work experience – are unlikely to qualify under Canada’s normal immigrant requirements. As a result, some might opt to claim refugee status, a process likely to take several years to play out, even for those whose claims are rejected.

Martha Batiz, an award-winning Mexican-Canadian writer and academic, said Canada would do well to put a system in place to welcome Dreamers, many of whom have grown up in the U.S. and are therefore culturally adapted and speak English as well as Spanish.

Otherwise, she said, they might feel desperate enough to create the kind of risky and uncontrolled influx recently seen with Haitian and African migrants.

“Canada has to step up,” Batiz said. “It would be better to have some system in place, even if it’s an imperfect system, so that (Dreamers) can apply legally, and Canada can decide who they are going to welcome.” (Source: Globe & Mail) 

 

Thursday January, 14, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Thursday January, 14, 2016 Canadian dollar will drop to 59 cents US in 2016, Macquarie forecasts A day after the loonie slipped below the 70-cent US level for the first time since 2003, a forecaster at investment bank Macquarie says he expects the loonie to lose another 10 cents to reach an all-time low of 59 cents by the end of 2016. David Doyle of Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. lowered his Canadian dollar forecast to 59 cents US on Tuesday. That would eclipse the all-time low for the loonie, set on Jan. 21, 2002, at 61.79 cents US. Doyle knows of what he speaks. Last February, when the Canadian dollar was valued at just over 80 cents, he Ñ correctly, as it turns out Ñ predicted the loonie would hit 69 cents US at some point in the next 12 months. It did so Tuesday. "Once [the loonie] reaches this level," Doyle said, "it should remain subdued through [the end of] 2018 and potentially even longer." Doyle's new forecast doesn't see the loonie above 65 cents US at any time between the end of 2016 and the two years that follow. The loonie has been whipsawed of late by oil and the U.S. dollar. Oil prices can't find a bottom, with a barrel of the North America crude oil benchmark dipping below $30 a barrel for the first time in 13 years on Tuesday. That's dragging the loonie down with it, as Canada's dollar is widely considered to be a play on oil prices. But strength in the U.S. dollar is making the loonie look even worse. Economic uncertainty makes investors flock to assets perceived as safe, and for the most part none are perceived to be safer than the U.S. dollar. That drives up the greenback's value. So while the Canadian dollar is sliding lower compared to most currencies, it looks especially cheap compared to the U.S. buck. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/macquarie-loonie-forecast-1.3401644 Canada, USA, dollar, loonie, currency, George Washington, bridge, cross, borde

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday January, 14, 2016

Canadian dollar will drop to 59 cents US in 2016, Macquarie forecasts

A day after the loonie slipped below the 70-cent US level for the first time since 2003, a forecaster at investment bank Macquarie says he expects the loonie to lose another 10 cents to reach an all-time low of 59 cents by the end of 2016.

Friday January 30, 2015David Doyle of Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. lowered his Canadian dollar forecast to 59 cents US on Tuesday. That would eclipse the all-time low for the loonie, set on Jan. 21, 2002, at 61.79 cents US.

Doyle knows of what he speaks. Last February, when the Canadian dollar was valued at just over 80 cents, he — correctly, as it turns out — predicted the loonie would hit 69 cents US at some point in the next 12 months.

It did so Tuesday.

“Once [the loonie] reaches this level,” Doyle said, “it should remain subdued through [the end of] 2018 and potentially even longer.”

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday October 15, 2009 Big problems in higher dollar There is a certain giddiness attached to a soaring Canadian dollar, with visions of cheaper trips to Florida or New York for those who canÊafford to travel. There is also a degree of smugness about us doing better than the Americans in managing the economy. We should dismiss such thoughts, however. The fact is that a higher-valued dollar is a disaster for Ontario's economy, based as it is onÊexports of manufactured goods into the U.S. market. Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) estimates that, for every hike of oneÊcent in the value of our dollar, 25,000 factory jobs are lost. And since the beginning of this year, the loonie has gone up 15 cents. Partly this is attributable to our better fiscal situation, in comparison to the tax-averse Americans. (The U.S. deficit Ð a staggering $1.6Êtrillion this year Ð is "unsustainable," according to the Congressional Budget Office.) And partly it can be traced to rising prices forÊcommodities, particularly oil, for the loonie is now a "petro-dollar." For manufacturers, this is a double whammy: the higher dollar makes their products less competitive in the American market, and higherÊoil prices drive up their costs. "Canadian manufacturers are really caught between a rock and a hard place," says CME President Jayson Myers. Prime Minister StephenÊHarper notes the "difficult effects" on the economy. (Source: Toronto Star) Canada, Dollar, loonie, strength, strong, imports, exports, fish, skeleton, bones, economy

The good old days

Doyle’s new forecast doesn’t see the loonie above 65 cents US at any time between the end of 2016 and the two years that follow.

The loonie has been whipsawed of late by oil and the U.S. dollar. Oil prices can’t find a bottom, with a barrel of the North America crude oil benchmark dipping below $30 a barrel for the first time in 13 years on Tuesday. That’s dragging the loonie down with it, as Canada’s dollar is widely considered to be a play on oil prices.

June 17, 1998But strength in the U.S. dollar is making the loonie look even worse.

Economic uncertainty makes investors flock to assets perceived as safe, and for the most part none are perceived to be safer than the U.S. dollar. That drives up the greenback’s value. So while the Canadian dollar is sliding lower compared to most currencies, it looks especially cheap compared to the U.S. buck. (Source: CBC News)

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Anger over proposed fee for Canadians entering U.S.

A proposal to charge travellers a fee for entering the U.S. by land has sparked anger in both countries, with opponents citing fears it will hinder border crossings and hurt the economy.

The proposal to study the new fee is included in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 2014 budget.

In its proposal, the department urges a study examining the effect of collecting a crossing fee for both pedestrians and passenger vehicles along the Canadian and Mexican borders. Proponents say the fee is being considered as a way to cover increasing security costs.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson explained the study to reporters on Monday.

“There’s a proposal for some money for a study. We’ll wait to see what happens,” he said.

But opponents of the proposed fee already lashed out against it on Monday, saying it will complicate trade between the U.S. and Canada. It is estimated that nearly $1.6 billion in trade takes place every day along the U.S.-Canada border.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it would “vigorously lobby” against the proposal. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce called the fee a “serious mistake” and promised to fight it.
Chamber President Perrin Beatty told CTV News Channel the proposed fee unfairly punishes travellers. “The decision they’ve made is to study sticking it to the beleaguered traveller one more time,” Beatty said.

He said that if the fee is being used to cover security costs, it should be paid from general tax revenue and not charged to travellers. (Source: CTV News)

Thursday December 8, 2011

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday December 8, 2011 Canada-U.S. border agreement signed Amid the manifold distractions of an American presidential election year, much of the perimeter-security agreement between the United States and Canada, announced by Stephen Harper and Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday, may be difficult to implement promptly. But one important element of the agreement that is directly connected to security Ð the sharing of data on who has entered or exited one of the two countries Ð ought to be put into effect, sooner rather than later. The Americans have a particularly well-founded eagerness to prevent the entry of terrorists into their country Ð and of more ordinary criminals, too. Consequently, the U.S. government was resolved to include the entry-exit system in the border agreement. In fact, terrorists have never favoured the Canadian border as an entry point into the U.S. But the data sharing will be valuable to Canada, too, not only for its own security, but also on other matters. At present, the federal government knows little about departures from Canada that affect the functioning of the immigration system. For one thing, there is no reliable way of knowing whether unsuccessful refugee claimants have done the right thing and left the country, or whether they have continued to live in Canada, hoping to avoid deportation Ð an outcome for which the odds are good. As for permanent residents of Canada who wish to become citizens, the government has no way of verifying whether they have stayed in the country for the required amount of time. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a significant number of citizenship applicants have had a tenuous presence in Canada Ð that they have not truly settled here and put down roots. The new system will be a great help to Canada in keeping track of all this. (Source: Globe & Mail) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/canada-us-border-agreement-a-good-thing/article418

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 8, 2011

Canada-U.S. border agreement signed

Amid the manifold distractions of an American presidential election year, much of the perimeter-security agreement between the United States and Canada, announced by Stephen Harper and Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday, may be difficult to implement promptly. But one important element of the agreement that is directly connected to security – the sharing of data on who has entered or exited one of the two countries – ought to be put into effect, sooner rather than later.

The Americans have a particularly well-founded eagerness to prevent the entry of terrorists into their country – and of more ordinary criminals, too. Consequently, the U.S. government was resolved to include the entry-exit system in the border agreement. In fact, terrorists have never favoured the Canadian border as an entry point into the U.S. But the data sharing will be valuable to Canada, too, not only for its own security, but also on other matters.

At present, the federal government knows little about departures from Canada that affect the functioning of the immigration system. For one thing, there is no reliable way of knowing whether unsuccessful refugee claimants have done the right thing and left the country, or whether they have continued to live in Canada, hoping to avoid deportation – an outcome for which the odds are good.

As for permanent residents of Canada who wish to become citizens, the government has no way of verifying whether they have stayed in the country for the required amount of time. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a significant number of citizenship applicants have had a tenuous presence in Canada – that they have not truly settled here and put down roots. The new system will be a great help to Canada in keeping track of all this. (Source: Globe & Mail)

 

Wednesday December 7, 2005

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 7, 2005

U.S. to cut softwood duties almost in half

Canadian officials are cheering a move by the U.S. Commerce Department to chop softwood lumber duties by almost 50 per cent.The Commerce Department set the new rates on Tuesday, settling on average payments of 10.81 per cent.

That figure is a considerable drop from the current average payment of 20.15 per cent.

“This is a very positive step forward as Canada fights to have the illegal duties reduced to zero,” John Allan, president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, told the Canadian Press.

The softwood dispute has been the main trade irritant between Canada and the U.S.

The U.S. believes Canada improperly subsidizes softwood production because most U.S. timber is harvested from private land at market prices, while in Canada the wood is mostly cut on Crown land.

The U.S. government has collected about $5 billion in duties on Canadian softwood exports to the U.S. since the tariffs were introduced in May 2002. (Source: CBC)